The Weekly Comic Book Forecast – August 17th 2016

Every week there is a vast array of new comics on the stands. Among the chaos of New Comic Book Day, You need a resource that tells you about the books worth paying attention to. That resource is here. It’s The Weekly Comic Book Forecast – August 17th 2016!

As always, you can find the full list of this week’s releases at Comiclist.com

Pick of the Week

What looks to be a cross between Goonies, Lumberjanes and the Narnia books, Backstagers looks to be the best kind of fun and that’s always welcome around these parts!

James Tynion IV (Batman Eternal, The Woods) teams up with artist Rian Sygh (Munchkin, Stolen Forest) for an incredible yet earnest story about finding a place to fit in when you’re kinda an outcast. When Jory transfers to the private, all-boys school St. Genesius’s, he figures joining the stage crew would involve a lot of just fetching props and getting splinters. To his pleasant surprise, he discovers there’s a door backstage that leads to different worlds, and all of the stagehands know about it! All the world’s a stage…but what happens behind the curtain is pure magic!

Wild Card

‘Already in development for a TV series’ always has me a little concerned. It could be that this new series from Brian Wood and Mack Chater is such a great concept that TV execs snapped it up in an instant, or it could be that it’s gone down the ‘Mark Millar’ route and it’s written not to be a great comic in its own right but merely a glorified screenplay. Which is fine if that’s your thing and it obviously works well for Mr Millar, but I would prefer creators to fully embrace this medium rather than use it as a stepping stone to another.

So basically ALL of my issues with this book are exactly that: MY ISSUES. I have no idea what went on behind the scenes of this book, and if all I want is for this book to be treated like a comic book then maybe I should do the same? Don’t judge a book by it’s cover is a great phrase that I almost certainly just made up myself.

Briggs Land, nearly a hundred square miles of rural wilderness, contains the largest antigovernment secessionist movement in the United States. When matriarch Grace Briggs wrests control of the operation from her incarcerated husband, she sparks a war within the community-and her immediate family-that threatens to bring the full power of the federal government down on their heads. o Perfect for fans of Sons of Anarchy and Justified! o In development for an AMC television show!

The Rest of the Best

DC Rebirth Update

Beepbeepbeepbeep beepbeepbeep REBIRTH WATCH! Couple of good looking ones out this week. First up is Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #1, picking up where the Rebirth one-shot left off, much like Suicide Squad #1. Both of which had enjoyable Rebirth issues so I’m interested to see where they take them. Finally we have something I’ve been looking forward to for a while: Supergirl Rebirth #1! I love both writer Steve Orlando and Supergirl so having him write the upcoming series has me HYPE. I didn’t even know the Rebirth issue was due this week so that’s got me very excited.

Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey #1DC Comics: August 17, 2016 Writer: Julie Benson Art: Claire Roe Cover: Yanick Paquette
‘Who Is Oracle?’ part one! Someone has stolen the name Oracle right out of Barbara Gordon’s past! Hot on this false Oracle’s trail, Batgirl, Black Canary, and Huntress are all tracking the same mafia capo?so it makes sense to team up, right? Problem is, Barbara and Dinah need the secrets locked up in Oracle’s brain?and Helena Bertinelli would rather put a crossbow bolt right through it!

Supergirl Rebirth #1DC Comics: August 17, 2016 Writer: Steve Orlando Art: Emanuela Lupacchino Cover: Emanuela Lupacchino
Supergirl turns to the shadowy organization known as the D.E.O. (Department of Extranormal Operations) to restore her lost powers once and for all! But as a fateful experiment sends Kara Zor-El rocketing toward the sun, disaster strikes at home in the form of the lost Kryptonian werewolf Lar-On! All the epic action of the brand new Supergirl series starts here!

Who here loved #1 of Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston’s neo-noir dystopic superhero master-stroke Black Hammer?! Er. Everyone? Everyone with taste did? We certainly did over on That’s The Issue Podcast anyway! And here’s the second issue!

The Golden Age heroes of Spiral City have been ‘erased’ from existence! Banished years ago to a timeless farming community, the team are torn between accepting their fate and finding a way home! Chapter two focuses on child hero Golden Gail, whose un-aging body most deeply feels the tragedy of their new lives.

LOVE Chris Sebela. Love him and his talented writing. So to see he has a creepy new comic out is music to my ears and when I read it it’ll be music to my…eyes.

SERIES PREMIERE Detective Scott Graves will do anything to protect his family? even bargain away his soul. Now, the only thing to fear isn’t New York’s worst criminals, but what’s already raging inside of him. After all, what’s the cost of your soul when it’s already damaged?

Fallen #1
Marvel: August 17, 2016

Civil War II trundles on, and following The Accused last week, here’s The Fallen. Can’t say I’m loving Civil War II but I’m half way between keeping up and waiting for trade, so maybe all collected, when the dust has settled, this whole Event will read a little better? Shrug?

As a giant falls, friends and enemies alike gather to mourn his passing. Amadeus Cho, Rick Jones, Betty Ross, Thunderbolt Ross, the Warbound and more. Can they all keep a level head – or will some of them get ANGRY? Plus, what secrets lie in the Last Will and Testament of Bruce Banner?

C’mon…are you not a little bit curious?! You are right? I know I am, and I’ve not read a Spawn comic since 1997.

Do you have a favorite hero?! Better change it – they’re DEAD! If you ever wondered who the strongest hero is, THIS BOOK ANSWERS IT! It’s SPAWN – he kills EVERY HERO!

Tumor
ONI Press By: Joshua Hale Fialkov, Noel Tuazon

Finally, the solicits state that a new printing of this 2009 Archaia series is out this week, and having never heard of it before it looks fascinating. If I have a little extra money in my pocket I may splash out.

Private investigator Frank Armstrong barely scrapes by in the Los Angeles underbelly until ‘the big one’ hits his desk. Locate and retrieve the daughter of a drug kingpin, and he can finally afford more than the one-dollar meatloaf. Unfortunately, the job offer arrives just as the symptoms of his fatal, late-stage brain tumor intensify.

Frank must find the target and keep her safe while time collapses, family turns into foe, and the specter of his murdered wife resurfaces in the eyes of a mobster’s daughter. Eisner, Harvey, and Emmy nominated writer Joshua Hale Fialkov joins Harvey and Eisner nominated artist Noel Tuazon in their second thrilling collaboration about the bittersweet joy of lost love and the sharp pain of redemption.

The Best of the Rest

Grant Morrison concludes his epic Santa: Year One storyline with Klaus #7 out of Boom Studios (I cannot wait for that trade to be my annual comic book Chrimbo tradition); IDW also have a series ending this week with Star Trek #60 coming as the series finale; Wicked + Divine #22 is the end of the latest story arc; some great continuations of ongoing series coming out from Marvel with Gwenpool #5, Ultimates #10, Mockingbird #6, Moon Knight #4; finally Titan have issue 2 of the Doctor Who event Supremacy Of The Cybermen, which had a surprisingly strong first issue.

The Verdict

Pretty good. Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good!

That was The Weekly Comic Book Forecast – August 17th 2016!

Until next time,MattFor more reviews and discussions about the recent releases, check out our podcast – That’s The Issue! Also available on iTunes, Stitcher and Soundcloud – The Summer Special is now live! In it we discuss Comic Book Events! Love ’em or hate ’em, They’re here to stay…